Alan Smith’s Expert Analysis: Premier League Matchday 10 Predictions

Jack Grealish Is at a Crossroads and Everton Would Profit If He Turns It Around

You never know what’s going on behind the scenes with these instances, so you don’t want to jump to conclusions. Stories of him drinking and not reporting for training, if that’s the case, he needs to be sanctioned. He’s at a crossroads, Jack. Where does he go from here? Does he knuckle down? Can he knuckle down? Who knows what’s going on in his head? He might be struggling mentally, I don’t know. But he’s a fine talent, so you just hope that he can get back on the straight and narrow, because Everton would really profit from that.

It’s On Leeds’ Other Players to Support Calvert-Lewin

I don’t think we should look at it that way, because Calvert-Lewin has stayed fit. He’s found a way, it seems, to do that. If you’ve got a centre forward scoring goals, you’re always thinking, oh, we don’t want to lose him. But at the same time, you want your other players, Stach and Okafor and Harry Wilson, coming into the frame. He can score goals, so you need other people to support that main goalscorer. And it’s on them to do that.

Balogun Would Definitely Be One People Are Looking At

We know he came close to going to Everton and that turned into a bit of a car crash, but he scored loads of goals in the league for Monaco last season. I don’t know if he’s been injured this season. I noticed he scored at the weekend, his first goal.

But yeah, I think he’d definitely be one people would be looking at if he’s available. Because he plays for his country and scored a lot of goals for his club, so that might be a target.

It Will Be Touch and Go for Sunderland

It’s hard, isn’t it? I think we always thought it might be difficult with the extra workload of Europe, and they’re doing well in Europe, but not so well in the league. Just the one win in August, so it’s a long time ago now, against Fulham. And that defeat to Coventry would have hurt, against a newly promoted side. That would have been fairly damaging.

I think Regis Le Bris is a good coach. I think it’ll be touch and go for them to stay up, but I would like to see it.

Leicester Did It, So Brighton Could Definitely Go All the Way

Well, Leicester did it, the miracle of 2016. Things have certainly got to go their way, and that would mean Arsenal dropping away quite drastically, maybe in the way that some of Leicester’s opponents did. But I don’t know. I think they could definitely go all the way. They’ve also got the burden of Europe, which might work against them. But it will be wonderful if you get to Easter and onwards and they’re still there fighting. That’d be a great story.

Arsenal Got Away With One, and It Shouldn’t Depend on the Player’s Reaction

They got away with one for the Isak shout. It shouldn’t be the case, but so much depends on the fouled player’s reaction, and most players know that. Alexis MacAllister went down ridiculously when he touched heads with Madueke.

It was difficult for Isak to make a meal of it, really, because he’s running one way, he’s got his shirt pulled, and if he falls backwards it’s going to look a bit ridiculous. But you have to draw the ref’s attention to it, and VAR, and that’s not right. It should just be based on the actual foul, the nuts and bolts of it. But yeah, Arsenal did get away with one.

Wirtz Continues to Underperform and Liverpool Need More

It’s a fair point that we should expect more from the attack, given how much it cost. Florian Wirtz continues to underperform, and when it is tight, you’re looking at your number 10 to create some chances, to make something happen. He’s not in that place at the moment. Barcola coming in. Obviously, up against the top defence anywhere, it’s never going to be easy. But not to have a shot on target, yeah, you’re wanting more from that attack.

Stressful Times for Jaissle and a Lot of Question Marks at Newcastle

They’re certainly trying to find their best form. Last night was such a poor performance against Everton, they just didn’t get going. The crowd are getting on their backs. So yeah, stressful times, I think, for Jaissle. People have been wondering whether he can do the damage. Attacking-wise, they’ve got good players, but it’s just not clicking. And he’s inexperienced at this level, so a lot of question marks for them.